Kiss_of_the_Dragon
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China aims to redraw the geopolitical map of Asia with plans to bind other countries closer to it through a network of new ports, pipelines, roads and railways. One plan is to build a “Silk Road Economic Belt” through Central Asia. China’s biggest land port on that route is the newly established city of Horgos on the border with Kazakhstan.
1- Horgos was a major transit point long ago, before it became a backwater
Horgos became a transit point on the ancient Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), according to local authorities. They say Horgos means either “place of much camel dung” or “place of good pasture” in the language of the Junggar people who dominated the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The border was closed after the Russian revolution in 1917, and several times thereafter during periods of tension between Moscow and Beijing. Although the border reopened in 1983, trade was negligible until recently because of continuing tensions and poor transport links.
2-As China began planning new trade routes, Horgos again became a critical crossroads
China’s plan is to transform the sleepy frontier crossing into an international railway, energy and logistics hub for a “Silk Road Economic Belt” unveiled by President Xi Jinping last year. China established a free-trade zone there in 2012, and bilateral trade through Horgos in 2013 was $11 billion, up 55.5% from 2012, according to local government statistics.
3- Horgos became a city in September and is officially the land port of a new Silk Road
China upgraded Horgos to a city in September.
The Chinese side of the free-trade zone features five multistory wholesale markets where Kazakh traders buy Chinese tires, furs, electronics and other consumer goods. A gas pipeline from Turkmenistan enters China in Horgos. China has built an expressway to the border here and a railway connecting China’s network to Kazakhstan’s. Official maps and statements now describe Horgos as China’s main land port on the Silk Road Economic Belt.
4- The Kazakh side of the border lags behind
The Kazakh side of the free-trade zone has lagged behind, with only a small cluster of cargo containers and yurts—traditional tents—selling Russian chocolates, homemade honey and other comestibles. Kazakh traders complain that Almaty, the nearest Kazakh city, is a bumpy five-hour drive away. Kazakh officials say they will start building malls and hotels and finish upgrading the road to Almaty next year. That is one of the last sections of a transcontinental highway from China’s east-coast port of Lianyungang to Russia’s St. Petersburg, to be opened by 2016.
5-Horgos is part of a bigger plan
Horgos is a small element of a broader program including a “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” that was also unveiled last year. That plan envisions constructing or expanding ports and industrial zones across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The two Silk Road plans will be funded by Chinese aid, investment from state and private firms, a new $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and a Silk Road Fund announced in November.
5 Things to Know about Horgos and China’s New Silk Roads - WSJ
Very Interesting, never pay attention to this transit point and now become a chinese city.
1- Horgos was a major transit point long ago, before it became a backwater
Horgos became a transit point on the ancient Silk Road in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), according to local authorities. They say Horgos means either “place of much camel dung” or “place of good pasture” in the language of the Junggar people who dominated the area in the 17th and 18th centuries. The border was closed after the Russian revolution in 1917, and several times thereafter during periods of tension between Moscow and Beijing. Although the border reopened in 1983, trade was negligible until recently because of continuing tensions and poor transport links.
2-As China began planning new trade routes, Horgos again became a critical crossroads
China’s plan is to transform the sleepy frontier crossing into an international railway, energy and logistics hub for a “Silk Road Economic Belt” unveiled by President Xi Jinping last year. China established a free-trade zone there in 2012, and bilateral trade through Horgos in 2013 was $11 billion, up 55.5% from 2012, according to local government statistics.
3- Horgos became a city in September and is officially the land port of a new Silk Road
China upgraded Horgos to a city in September.
The Chinese side of the free-trade zone features five multistory wholesale markets where Kazakh traders buy Chinese tires, furs, electronics and other consumer goods. A gas pipeline from Turkmenistan enters China in Horgos. China has built an expressway to the border here and a railway connecting China’s network to Kazakhstan’s. Official maps and statements now describe Horgos as China’s main land port on the Silk Road Economic Belt.4- The Kazakh side of the border lags behind
The Kazakh side of the free-trade zone has lagged behind, with only a small cluster of cargo containers and yurts—traditional tents—selling Russian chocolates, homemade honey and other comestibles. Kazakh traders complain that Almaty, the nearest Kazakh city, is a bumpy five-hour drive away. Kazakh officials say they will start building malls and hotels and finish upgrading the road to Almaty next year. That is one of the last sections of a transcontinental highway from China’s east-coast port of Lianyungang to Russia’s St. Petersburg, to be opened by 2016.
5-Horgos is part of a bigger plan
Horgos is a small element of a broader program including a “21st-Century Maritime Silk Road” that was also unveiled last year. That plan envisions constructing or expanding ports and industrial zones across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The two Silk Road plans will be funded by Chinese aid, investment from state and private firms, a new $50 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and a Silk Road Fund announced in November.
5 Things to Know about Horgos and China’s New Silk Roads - WSJ
Very Interesting, never pay attention to this transit point and now become a chinese city.
the first regular trains from the two countries crossed the border on December 22, 2012.
